More items won

Patty has the winning bids for the brown pashmina and the Thai bracelet. Congratulations!

Bidding still open...

The silver necklace from Thailand is sold, but the bracelet is still available, along with the pashminas, the beautiful pictures, and the hand-made cutting board.

Get busy bidding, everyone!

Update on Jackie

Great news!

Jackie let me know this morning that she had her chest tubes removed yesterday and is now on peritoneal dialysis only.

She said she is feeling better and believes she can deal with this until she can get a kidney.

Hooray!

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK!

A beautiful, hand-made-from-recycled-wood cutting board from George Lauer in New Jersey. The board is decorated with a hand-burned rooster, and is topped with Lucite for easy cleaning.

THIS JUST IN!

These beautiful items came to me direct from Thailand: two authentic pashminas, one in green and the other in bronze/brown, both with a paisley-type pattern woven in; and two pieces of silver jewelry, handcrafted by members of the Thai Hill Tribe.

The pashminas can be worn as scarves or shawls. They are 26 inches wide and about 70 inches long, including fringe.

The braclet is a hand-crocheted brown cuff with silver beads that jingle when it moves.

The necklace is adjustable length, with silver beads and a silver pendant.

New, cool items!

These cool mixed-media prints were made for this project by Claudia Lauer, artist and writer. They are wood-framed canvas with colored wax below and ink on acetate affixed on top.

They're small, light weight, and would be best with a frame because the wax makes the acetate somewhat delicate.

The Ferris wheel and roller coaster are 5 by 7; while the other three are 4 by 5.

Please begin the bidding by posting a comment.

CONGRATULATIONS

We have another winner. Kevin Hudson bid on and won the first set of four photos by Christina Boring.

There are still many more pictures and that beautiful pet mat up for bids, and if you have an item to donate, please contact me at newsgrrl12@gmail.com.

Thanks, Kevin!

New item!

Check it out! A handmade sleeping mat for your favorite pet.

Artist Kelsey Golden made this 17-inch-by-23-inch mat of 100 percent cotton, with a layer of polyester batting for cushiness.

The mat is machine washable and has attached ties so you can roll it up for easy storage or for packing when you travel with your pet.

There are no seams on either side, so it can be used and rolled up on either side.

Here's how it looks rolled up:




Feel free to start the bidding now!

Coming soon

If you're waiting for something different than pictures, the wait is almost over. There's jewelry from Thailand on its way, and a handmade roll-up pet mat that you can take with you when you travel with your best furry friend.

As soon as pictures of them arrive, they will be posted.

Cottons Bridge

Cottons Bridge in Southern California, by Christina Boring.

You name the price for this lovely photo.

San Francisco

The famous Golden Gate Bridge, by Christina Boring.

Bids? You name them.

More seashore photos

Christina certainly has an eye for a nice picture. These would make a nice set, I think.

You start the bidding on these.

Next item

Another photo by the talented Christina Boring, this one of tropical fish life.

Like the others, it's printable any size you like.

Minimum bid: I'm not setting one. You start the bidding on this.

We have our first winner

Carissa bid on and won the auction for Andy Shupe's lovely photo of the lone hiker.

Congratulations, Carissa!

New itms for bidding

More beautiful shots from Christina Boring. These were taken in San Clemente, California.

Let's start the bidding at $40, shall we?

Update on Jackie

Jackie had surgery today to place a peritoneal dialysis device inside her abdomen. It has to incubate there for about a month before she will be able to connect to a dialysis machine at home through a tube in her stomach.

That means only a month more of three-time-a-week dialysis at the clinic -- a treatment that dangerously increases her blood pressure and leaves her feeling sick.

The peritoneal dialysis is more like the way the kidneys function, and will be gentler. The process will take place as she sleeps.

Her husband said she came through the surgery very well today, and is at home tonight, resting, though she's hurting.

I have more pictures to post for auction, and will do so this weekend.

In the meantime, please help if you can, and tell a friend or 10 about the auction!

Thanks, friends!

NO LONGER AVAILABLE

A beautiful set of photos taken in Hawai'i by semi-professional photographer Christina Boring. Yes, the top photo is a real photo -- colorful coral seen through the crystal Hawai'ian water.

These are unframed, and can be printed any size you choose.

Minimum bid for the set: $75

Aloha!

Item the second

This is an original 2007 work by Boston-area artist Bea Modisett. It's a 12x12 graphite-on-paper drawing entitled "He's in the Livery Stable!" Its value is listed at $500

Minimum bid: $100

Now taking bids...

NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Photographer Andy Shupe took this gorgeous picture in Northwest Arkansas.

He has promised to mat and frame it for the winning bidder, as a 4x6 print in a black 8x10 frame.

Minimum bid: $30

To bid, simply post your bid in a comment. They are time-stamped, so it will be easy to see which order the bids come in.

Why we're doing this

Jackie Flanagin, a wife, mother and special-needs teacher, needs a new kidney.

She has lived with a degenerative kidney disease since before she was in college, and she didn't let it stop her from finishing her master's degree.

She had a transplant more than 10 years ago, but now it is failing.

And while she's a good candidate for another surgery, she also has an antibody issue that drastically reduces the number of people who will match her for a new organ.

Her husband and sister have been eliminated from the donor list because of the incompatibility.

She's living on dialysis three times a week, and although her husband's insurance pays the bulk of the costs, dialysis isn't cheap. It's about $5,000 a session, and she's responsible for 20 percent of that.

She's had to leave her job for the rest of this school year because of her health, and the medical bills are piling up.

So we're going to auction off some hand-done arts and crafts.

It's a win-win.

You get a one-of-a-kind piece of art or a craft project someone has put long, loving hours into, and Jackie gets to help pay the bills.

Some of our art is pictures taken by professional and semi-professional photographers. Other items will include watercolor paintings, a scrapbook that would make a great gift, and more.

If you have an item to donate, please e-mail me at newsgrrl12@gmail.com. To bid, post a comment.

Each item will remain up for bid for two weeks.

Thanks for helping, and happy shopping!